Conservatives scoff at attempt to take colonial-era flag and connect Justice Alito to 'MAGA battle flag'

Conservatives slammed liberal politicians and members of the media for branding an enduring and popular Revolutionary War-era flag as a "MAGA battle flag," in their attempt to tie Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.

The head of a prominent conservative organization, along with multiple conservatives on social media, rebutted the attempt to call the flag a Jan. 6 symbol and link Alito to the riot. They pointed to the flag’s history as a patriotic symbol flown by Americans living in the thirteen colonies, and its more modern appearances – like it being on a 1968 U.S. postage stamp, and 2019 appearance at San Francisco City Hall – as proof it’s not a MAGA symbol of insurrection. 

"This is just one of many historic American flags out there. And they're trying to parlay it, through some kind of, you know, conspiracy theorist guilt by association thing into somehow he's, he's supporting, insurrectionists or something," Judicial Crisis Network President Carrie Severino told Fox News Digital when asked about the critique. 

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Conservatives slammed liberal politicians and members of the media for branding an enduring Revolutionary War-era flag as a "MAGA battle flag," in their attempt to tie Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. (SOPA Images / Contributor)

The media reported the story earlier this week, when The New York Times noted that "another provocative symbol was displayed at [Alito’s] vacation house in New Jersey, according to interviews and photographs" last summer.

The New York Times stated, "This time, it was the ‘Appeal to Heaven’ flag, which, like the inverted U.S. flag, was carried by rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Also known as the Pine Tree flag, it dates back to the Revolutionary War, but largely fell into obscurity until recent years and is now a symbol of support for former President Donald J. Trump, for a religious strand of the ‘Stop the Steal’ campaign and for a push to remake American government in Christian terms."

This piece followed a Times report from a few days prior, which brandished evidence that Alito’s home flew an "upside-down American flag" right around the time of the Jan. 6 riot. 

Separately, the Washington Post reported on Saturday that one of its reporters attempted to confront Alito’s wife, Martha-Ann Alito, about the upside-down flag at their Fairfax, Virginia home in January 21. According to the report, Alito told the reporter the flag was "an international signal of distress."

However, the Post seemed to shoot down the Times' narrative, noting, "The Post decided not to report on the episode at the time because the flag-raising appeared to be the work of Martha-Ann Alito, rather than the justice, and connected to a dispute with her neighbors, a Post spokeswoman said. It was not clear then that the argument was rooted in politics, the spokeswoman said." 

Prominent liberals have run with this narrative that Alito flying the Pine Tree Flag associates him with pro-Trump insurrectionists. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., accused Alito’s flag of being a "MAGA battle flag" on May 22.

In an X post, Whitehouse shared the Times article and commented, "Did another neighbor make Alito’s wife mad? How many MAGA battle flags does Alito need to fly for the Court or the Judicial Conference to see there’s a problem?"

MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes shared a quote from his show in which he said that Alito flying both flags "suggests a disturbing readiness to keep pushing past any boundaries as the movement that Alito is clearly a member of looks to destroy the current American constitutional order."

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Liberal media and Democratic Party leaders have used the classic "Appeal to Heaven" colonial-era flag to link Supreme Court Justice Alito to Jan. 6 insurrectionists. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

But as many conservatives pointed out in response, the flag represented the values that went into forming America.  

Former Vice President Mike Pence called the attack "absurd" and "anti-historical." He explained the history of the flag, which reveals it represents America’s most traditional values.

He wrote on X, "The controversy over Justice Alito flying the ‘Appeal to Heaven’ flag is absurd and anti-historical. The flag was commissioned by George Washington in 1775 for use on six cruiser ships intercepting British vessels at sea and became the maritime flag of Massachusetts."

"The flag draws its meaning from John Locke," he added, following up with a quote from the famous thinker: "’And where the Body of the People, or any single Man, is deprived of their Right, or is under the Exercise of a power without right, and have no Appeal on Earth, then they have a liberty to appeal to Heaven, whenever they judge the Cause of sufficient moment.’ The Second Treatise on Civil Government (1689), John Locke."

Author and political scientist Dr. Carol Swain defended the flag, posting, "Appeal to Heaven means take your case to God. Why is the left in a tizzy about a Christian flag that symbolizes support for traditional values? Justice Alito and his wife should be applauded for their willingness to publicly stand for Judeo-Christian values. The Left is willing to lie, steal, and in some cases steal for their values."

Conservative account "@amuse" noted that the image was used on a postage stamp in the 1960s: "BREAKING: Justice Alito’s stamp collection includes this dangerous insurrection stamp issued by the United States Postal Service…"

And conservative operative Logan Dobson shared a 2019 article from far-left outlet "Mother Jones" which featured an image of the Appeal to Heaven flag flying outside of San Francisco City Hall that year while the annual Women’s March was going on.

He mockingly asked, "How could Sam Alito do this"?

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Severino dismissed the controversy. 

"Look, our money says, 'In God We Trust.' America has always had a, a sense of, appealing to divine favor. And that's George Washington, that's Abraham Lincoln. This is really the entire history of our country. You could say you could say, 'Well, gosh, you're making a political statement by flying the the American flag.' Yeah. It's I think it's a patriotic one. So, it's a pro-American statement."

"Obviously, judges shouldn't be telegraphing their opinions or positions in a particular case.  But being patriotic hardly does that," she added. 

Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.